What they are
What 0DTE options are
A 0DTE contract is simply an option whose expiration is today. Because there is no time left, its price is almost pure intrinsic value plus a shrinking time premium. Buyers are making a same-day bet on direction or a specific level; sellers collect premium that decays to zero by the close. Index options like SPX settle in cash at the close with no overnight risk, which is one reason 0DTE volume concentrates there rather than in single names.
Why they matter
Gamma is largest on the final day: every point the underlying moves changes a 0DTE contract's delta dramatically, so the dealers who sold those contracts must rebalance their hedges continuously. Near big open interest strikes, that rebalancing can pin price; away from them it can accelerate moves. Reading the day's gamma walls before the open is how many traders frame the session.
The risk
A 0DTE buyer can lose 100% of the premium within hours and gain multiples just as fast; a seller can face margin calls on a fast move. The same hedging flows that make levels interesting can turn a quiet day into a violent one, in either direction. Position sizing and a hard stop are the price of admission.
Today spy levels
Today's levels for SPY (Sep 30, 2026)
| Level | Value |
|---|---|
| SPY spot at snapshot | $762.6 |
| SPY call wall | $764 |
| SPY put wall | $761 |
| SPY zero gamma flip | none inside tracked strikes |
| Net gamma sign | negative (short gamma: dealer hedging amplifies moves) |
Max pain for SPY's nearest expiration (2026-09-30) is $763, 0.0% above spot. Full max pain table
Zero days to expiry (0DTE) options expire the same day they trade. Their gamma is extreme: small moves in the underlying swing their value by large percentages, and the dealers who sell them must rebalance hedges continuously, which can amplify intraday moves in both directions. The levels below come from the same delayed chain snapshot as our GEX pages: the call wall is where rallies tend to meet dealer selling, the put wall is where selloffs tend to accelerate, and max pain for the nearest expiration is where option writers have the smallest total payout.
Related
SPY gamma exposure · SPY max pain · Unusual options activity today · Options flow hub · GEX glossary
FAQ
What are 0DTE options?
Options with zero days to expiry: they finish trading the same day. Their remaining time value decays to nothing by the close, so they trade like pure lottery-style bets on the day's move, with extreme gamma.
How big is 0DTE trading?
Zero days to expiry (0DTE) options in SPX averaged 2.3 million contracts daily in 2025, or 59% of total SPX options volume (Cboe, The State of the Options Industry: 2025, published January 22, 2026).
What are the risks?
Gains and losses are both fast: a 0DTE contract can double or go to zero within hours, and hedging flows from the dealers who sell them can amplify intraday moves in the underlying in both directions. They are trading tools, not investments.
Does Tapeboard track 0DTE levels?
Yes: the daily snapshot below shows SPY dealer gamma walls and the nearest-expiration max pain. Subscribers get intraday GEX updates in the app.